UMass funding for financial aid rises by $20 million during 2015-2016

BOSTON -- April 6, 2016: UMass President Marty Meehan today announced that the University’s own spending on financial aid for students rose by nearly $20 million during the current academic year, increasing from $236 million to $255 million, the highest level ever.

Financial aid from all sources grew from $816.5 million to a record $835.5 million, President Meehan noted, as a report on the topic was presented to the Board of Trustees’ Committee on Administration and Finance.

“As a UMass graduate who worked my way through school, I’m extremely mindful of the financial pressures that students and their families feel – pressures that are even more acute today than they were in the past,” President Meehan said, in a prepared statement. “The trustees, the chancellors, the entire leadership of the University are committed to making UMass as affordable as it can be -- and the additional $20 million we have dedicated to financial aid demonstrates how serious we are about this critical issue.”

President Meehan noted that state government’s recent decision to approve $10.9 million in supplemental funding for UMass, $7 million of which is being directed to student scholarships, “greatly aids us in taking this important step on behalf of students and affordability.”

“The state has made it clear that quality and affordability at UMass is a significant priority, and I commend Governor Charlie Baker, Senate President Stanley Rosenberg, House Speaker Robert DeLeo and all of our supporters in the Legislature for taking this action,” said President Meehan, who during the meeting noted Senate President Rosenberg’s enduring focus on affordability.

Highlights of the financial aid report include:

UMass students this year received $334 million in need-based aid.

Need-based aid accounted for $105 million of the University’s own spending on financial aid.

The average net cost for a UMass in-state undergraduate living on campus in academic year 2014-2015 was $16,399. Net cost reflects tuition, fees, and room and board, minus grant and scholarship aid.

Federal aid and aid supplied by UMass account for 82 percent of all financial aid received by UMass students.

All UMass in-state undergraduate students determined to have financial need received some form of aid this year.